Thursday, 4:30 PM
City towing illegally parked vehicles
By Adrienne P. Samuels, Globe Staff
The city has towed nearly 2,000 illegally parked vehicles from street-sweeping zones, in a pre-winter cleanup designed to send a message to stubborn Boston motorists.
With two months left in the neighborhood street-cleaning season, the city has contracted seven tow companies to accompany street sweeping vehicles on their routes and immediately tow the vehicles. Officials say the measure is needed to clean the clog of lotto tickets, parking stubs, leaves, coffee cups, diapers, and clumps of ratty paper from city streets.
Crews are focusing on neighborhoods such as the South End and East Boston and sections of Dorchester and South Boston. In two weeks since the city began the campaign, more than 1,900 cars have been towed, and at least 12,487 tickets issued.
‘‘We hope that those who typically do not move their cars get the message,’’ said mayoral spokeswoman Jennifer Mehigan. ‘‘Street cleaning is a priority for the city.’’
Towing is only the latest effort to get cars out of the way of street sweepers. Last year, the city hiked parking ticket fees from $25 to $40, hoping the stiffer fines would grab motorists’ attention. It helped, officials said, but not enough.
‘‘We tried everything else under the sun,’’ said Joseph Canavan, superintendent of Boston Public Works. ‘‘We don’t like to tow. We just want to get to the curb. This is the only thing that will work.’’
Motorists who have their cars towed can call the Boston Police tow line at 617-343-4629 to find out where their cars have been taken. Recovering a car will cost $90 for the tow, plus a storage fee of $20 each day a car is impounded. Owners also will owe $40 for a parking ticket. Officials said the city will receive no revenue from the towings.
